A Better Day Yesterday

Things seemed to flow better yesterday. Hubby got the kitchen ceiling completely done.

Seems to me being tall sure has its advantages. If I were doing this, I'd be on a ladder and up and down off of it moving it every couple of feet.

I got lots of polying done. It was simply a gorgeous day with no humidity and a lot of breeze. Sunny. Perfect for drying the applications. (I will spare you another of my Mrs. Darth Vader pictures.)

We got our third cuc from the garden. Crispy, crunchy, full of flavor, we both really like raw cucs. I tried to find an attractive background for this shot but . . . there are no attractive backgrounds around here right now.

This was dinner last night. I have no idea what it was. But I think it was the third night in a row we had it.

Some Days Just Go Better Than Other Days

Yesterday was a rough one. One step forward, two steps back. Not complaining though. (Well, maybe a little.) We still did make some progress . . . but it felt like piddling little.

The kitchen is now torn apart more than ever and I'm losing all sense of semblance of order in there. Whenever I try to do anything in the kitchen, I must look a tad demented as I turn slowly in a circle three times before heading in the direction of what I need. Only to discover that's not where it is . . . but, okay, where the heck is it?

Last night when Papa Pea went into the bedroom to get his jammies before showering, he commented we had a bit of a problem. Nah, nothing serious. He was just referring to everything piled on our king-sized bed including cabinet drawers and a double layer of miscellaneous other stuff.

Yesterday was extremely hot and humid which meant the early morning application of mud on the sheet rock patching didn't dry. Kinda unbelievable, but it did not dry all day. We were counting on me being able to paint the walls but can't do that until the sheet rocking is completely done, of course.

I painted the perimeter of the ceiling after taping the walls to get a nice sharp line. Got about one-fourth of the way around when we decided the paint I had chosen had way too much of a shine to it. We dubbed it glow-in-the-dark white. I had to stop and go purchase more paint. (At the hardware store, there were 3 [three!] people in line ahead of me waiting to get paint mixed. Have I ever mentioned patience is not one of my virtues?)

Papa Pea needed to finish the ceiling with a roller but he got involved in the laborious task of sinking screws that were protruding above floor level in preparation for laying tile which we had hoped would happen today, but won't. This meant covering every inch of the floor on hands and knees, taking out the offending screws and sinking new screws in the hole. He didn't start on the ceiling painting until late in the afternoon as natural light disappeared prior to a thunderstorm. Then he found that because of painting white on white, he simply couldn't see well enough to do a decent job.

I decided to take down my painting tape rather than leaving it up all night. The first thing I did was climb too high on the ladder and put the whole top of my head into a part of the freshly painted ceiling. Very wet, very messy, very stoopid. Then when I removed the tape, it pulled off the existing wall paint in about 50% of the places it touched. At least it was just the paint and not the paper covering of the old dry wall. I hope.

There was more, but it's not good to dwell on the less than pleasant. Today is a new day and better weather is forecast so we'll go eat our Fruit Loops (not really) and get on with it. Wishing a good, good day for us here in The Land of Extreme Disorder and for all of you whatever you're about for the day!

Are We Having Fun Yet?

Our day yesterday started off with me going to town for paint and hubby picking up some lumber for re-framing the door between the kitchen and living room.

When we put on the addition many years ago, the first year it was just a shell with no insulation so put an "outside" door there to keep more of the heat in the part of the house we were living in. The door was put in a wall where a double window had been leaving the opening wider than the door. We filled in the gaps on each side and put some (ugly) wide molding on both sides and over the top of the door which was torn off just prior to this picture.

When we got home from town, I put a coat of poly on the covers for a storage area and wood box on our porch. They'd gotten a little beat up looking in the last fifteen years (imagine that) so we pulled them off, Papa Pea sanded them and I put a new coat of finish on them.

I thought I'd share the above fetching shot of me in my full regalia doing the polying. Feel free to use it as a screen saver. It's guaranteed to scare viruses so badly they will stay far, far away from your computer.

Then B stopped by to tell us everything she wanted us to get done before she comes to play with us all day today. (She can be so bossy some times!) I was making a very creative and elegantly gourmet-ish lunch while she visited (peanut butter and jelly because who the heck has time to cook around here these days?) so we talked her into sitting still for a couple of minutes and joining us for a sandwich.

Then hubby and I set to work washing the kitchen ceiling and walls in preparation for painting.

Here's Papa Pea doing a little patch work on holes where my pot rack used to hang.

While he was up at that level, I talked him into washing off the tops of the cabinets. Omigosh, where the heck did all that dirt, grit and grime come from? Does somebody come in at night and dump bucketfuls up there? Ish!

After we finished washing the ceiling I put up masking tape to make painting the ceiling as easy as possible. (I think doing the taping takes as long as the painting does.)

We were going to paint the ceiling last night but right after dinner, Papa Pea's good friend (or his BFF as Chicken Mama calls him) stopped over and the first thing I knew they both had cold beers in their hands. That was fine with me 'cause I was having trouble finding more oompf and was glad for a little time off. But first thing this morning (as soon as we get some fortifying breakfast in our tummies), those rollers and brushes will be splashing that paint on the ceiling.

The Big Unveiling

I finally just a few minutes ago got the photos Chicken Mama sent me of her slowly and carefully (sort of like a strip tease if you ask me) unwrapping her present.

Unloaded from her car into the wheelbarrow for the trip to the house.

The box is opened . . .

The box is gone.

Slowly the wrapping slips to the ground . . .

And there it is, Folks. One handcrafted, wooden kitchen cupboard with slotted plate racks. She's got just the spot in her kitchen picked out for this unique piece.

I haven't talked with Chicken Mama since she sent me these pictures. So I'll ask here and now. Do you like your present? Is it all you expected? When do we get to see it mounted on the wall and full of your pretty dishes? Should we all come for dinner, too?

Tile for Kitchen Area

I know it's hard to get an idea of what the tile I've chosen for the kitchen will look like from this picture . . .

. . . especially since these tiles are just laid on the floor side by side, but I think I'm going to be very happy with it. Having a floor covering with an actual design will be very different for us after having lived with stained and varnished plywood for a floor for so long. I picked this pattern out and, frankly, was surprised that hubby like it a lot, too. (Score one for our side!)

The floor project should happen fairly soon. That seven-foot long kitchen island that is now living in our garage needs to be moved out of there and into the kitchen. But that can't happen until the tile gets laid on the floor. Everything always depends on everything else, doesn't it?

We're also thinking it would be wise to give the ceiling in the kitchen its new coat of paint before laying the new floor. I'm not saying we're messy painters (ahem), but unavoidable drips and drops do happen.

Today I got the last coat of finish on the door jamb and second side of the French door that will go between the kitchen and living room. Thunderstorms are threatening as we speak and I think the door and jamb are dry enough so we'd better skeedaddle and get them hauled into the safety of the garage.

Drawing Out The Suspense

Well, I tell ya, such a job Chicken Mama and I set up for ourselves! Picking a winner for the Name the Birthday Present contest has resulted in quite the go-round between the two of us in order to come to a consensus.

First of all, I have to say that a picture of the gift for the birthday girl who turned forty this momentous birthday year of 2011 will not be pictured in this post.

Here she is opening the box to take a peek.

And a peek is all she's had so far. She was concerned that if she unpacked it here, she'd never get it back into the box for the trip home. In order to get the box and two dogs in her little red car, Tucker the Corgi will have to ride on top of the box.

So the bottom line is that we won't get a picture of the actual item until it is unpacked in her house at Swamp River Ridge sometime tomorrow.

I will tell you that although we received oodles of really good guesses, no one came up with what is in the box. (Actually, I would have fallen right off my desk chair if anyone had nailed it.)

In lieu of posting a picture (and ending this awful suspense I know all of you are going through) and revealing what the item is we will now announce the winners we've chosen as the best guesses.

Drum roll, please.

First place . . . is a tie! Judy and Apple Pie Gal both submitted similar answers that really tickled Chicken Mama's funny bone. Judy guessed it was Ole, a blow-up doll who had to be packaged in a big box because Ole is a big man! Apple Pie Gal thought it was Sven from Sveeden, maybe conscious, maybe not. Perhaps these two answers appealed to Chicken Mama because of wishful thinking?

Second prize goes to Trailshome who thought it was a garden gnome to lurk around the deck at Swamp River Ridge and scare off Chicken Mama's pesky raccoon.

I guess I'd have to agree that even though she doesn't currently have one of any of the above (an Ole, a Sven or a guard gnome) she could probably make use of several of any of them! (Hahahaha!)

Chicken Mama wants to give Honorable Mention to the comment from Katidids. She thought it might be fireplace andirons and tools and that Chicken Mama's home had multiple fireplaces so she needed several sets. CM loved the fantasy that anyone thought she might have so grand a house as to have several fireplaces!

Now I'll need mailing addresses from Judy, APG and Trailshome so your prizes can be sent out to you. Just go over to my right hand side bar, hit the "Contact Me" button and send me an e-mail with the info needed.

Go ahead and call us mean and nasty for making you wait for the picture and reveal of the birthday present. We're dragging this out for all it's worth. Thanks to all who jumped in and participated in the fun!